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NYU Again Listed Among Leading Universities Attracting International Students and American Students Studying Abroad

November 11, 2013
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New York University has again been listed among the leading American universities in attracting international students to its campuses, in the number of American students studying abroad, and in the percentage of graduates who study overseas, according to a new study by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

More NYU students studied abroad in the 2011-2012 academic year than any other American college or university: 4,378. This was a 15 percent increase over the number NYU students studying overseas the previous year. Other universities with a large number of students studying abroad included the University of Texas (2,596), the University of Minnesota (2,508), and Michigan State University (2,380).

The IIE report also found that in the 2012-13 academic year, NYU attracted the fourth highest number of international students (9,362), an 8 percent increase over the previous year. The University of Southern California attracted the most international students (9,840), followed by the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (9,804), and Purdue University (9,509).

The results appear in the 2013 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, the annual report on international education published by IIE with funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

NYU has 14 Global Academic Centers, including degree-granting campuses and study-away sites on six continents. It opened a degree-granting campus in Abu Dhabi in 2010 and opened another degree-granting campus in Shanghai this September. The University also operates 11 global academic study- away sites in such locations as London, Paris, Buenos Aires, Prague, Accra, Sydney, and Washington, D.C.

President John Sexton said, “Our role is to prepare our students to become engaged and contributing citizens and in the 21st century that means becoming citizens of the world. In the years to come, a college degree will come to be seen as incomplete if it does not include a global experience; our students understand that, and have responded to it by studying abroad (or studying away, as we call it at NYU) in increasing numbers. So we have built a global presence to match that interest, and to enrich the research and learning of our faculty and students by enabling them to pursue their scholarship and their degrees in major idea capitals across the world. NYU is very proud to be recognized in this way by the IIE.”

The IIE report showed that there was a 7 percent increase in the number of international students at U.S. colleges and universities in the 2012-13 academic year, growing to 819, 644 students, while the number of U.S. students studying abroad increased by 3 percent to more than 283,000.

The leading destination of American students is the United Kingdom (34,660), followed by Italy (29,645), Spain (26,480), France (17,168), and China (14,887). China continues to be the leading country of origin for international students in the United States with 235,597 in 2012-13, a 21 percent increase over the previous year. It was followed by India (96,754), South Korea (70,627), Saudi Arabia (44,566), and Canada (27,357).

The report also found that the leading fields of study for international students in 2012-13 were business and management (21.8 percent), engineering (18.8 percent), math and computer sciences (9.5 percent), and the social sciences (8.9 percent).

In calculating U.S. students who study abroad, the report relies on data from 2011-12 academic year—rather than the 2012-13 academic year—because these numbers are reported only after students receive credit for their academic programs—typically after they return from their study-abroad experience. By contrast, international students who come to the U.S. are tallied once they are enrolled at American colleges and universities, and these figures are available sooner.

New York University, founded in 1831, is one of the world’s foremost research universities and a member of the selective Association of American Universities. The first Global Network University, it has degree-granting university campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai; 11 other global academic sites; and sends more students to study abroad than any other U.S. college or university. Through its 18 schools and colleges, NYU conducts research and provides education in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, business, dentistry, education, nursing, the cinematic and performing arts, music and studio arts, public administration, social work, engineering, and continuing and professional studies, among other areas.